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Monday, 13 August 2018

PHOTOGRAPHY: A Seasonal Outdoor Calendar

Taking photographs has quickly become a passion of mine and something I love to learn more about. As a blogger I have taken countless photos over the past five years, from documenting the run up to our wedding day, through pregnancy and onto parenthood. But my real love for capturing those special moments came when we had children. These days children are incredibly lucky to have so much of their lives captured through photos, films and memory books; they'll quite literally be able to relive their childhood when they're older. How amazing is that? My childhood is contained within a handful of photo albums and there are almost no moving pictures, so I take it upon myself to really try hard to take beautiful pictures of my daughters. I want them to be able to look back at all of our family adventures with fondness and gratefulness that so much was captured.

Also, as a blogger there is a certain level of 'cliché' when it comes to taking photos all year round. You only have to look at my Instagram feed and that of many others to notice a reoccurring pattern at certain points of the year. In the summer our feeds fill with lashing of purple lavender fields, the pale pinks of the confetti field, then come autumn it's all about the golden falling leaves. Some may say we're all one big cliché, while others (myself included) like to see it as inspiration. Going to a pretty seasonal location makes taking beautiful photos so much easier, so why wouldn't you do it? I see so often that people are posting 'yet another' lavender field photo and apologising for it, but why should they feel like that? If you all want to fill my feed with beautiful lavender field photos then please do! Each year I had looked on enviously at everyone's photos awash with purple and not been able to find a field local to us, that was until I stumbled across Cotswold Lavender and well the rest is history.

Instead of using Instagram as my inspiration and then having to quickly source flowers, locations or days out I thought I'd look back over the past year and put together a Seasonal Photograph Calendar. I'm sure I will have missed some key shots out, but these are the ones that sprung to mind for each month of the year. Now I'll be able to plan photos ahead of time, consider where to go for adventures and not miss any of my favourite places to take photos. I've also included any tips or tricks I've learnt along the way.

January

Snow, Crocus, sunrises and crisp frosty morning
In the winter months the days are so much shorter, so taking sunrise shots with children is a lot easier. I love playing around with silhouettes with sunrise/sunset photos, as I think they're very effective.

February

Wood, woolly hats and welliesTo capture the frosty mornings I will either head out into the garden or I know of a few walkways near to where we live that have lovely views, parking and only a few minutes away. If it's a sunny, frosty morning then I'll perhaps take the girls for a walk and capture some photos during it.

March

Rainy days and daffodilsTake a couple of rubber ducks to your nearest large puddle and watch them float, race them or just let your little one splash around. The splash of yellows that appear in the form of daffodils are so welcomed after a long few months of little colour other than brown and green.

April

Blossom trees and EasterA much loved time of year as blossom appears, filling everywhere with delicate pink petals. I found blossom trees hard to find in my area, so I really hunted and have noted down some of the places that had pretty trees. The photo with the girls and I below was taken in Hyde Park and it was a very popular tree for tourists taking photos within the park. Easter has to include some sort of bunny ears, Easter eggs and all of the chocolate!

May

Bluebell woods, wisteria, rapeseed fields and dandelions Bluebell woods are stunning, but hard to photograph in when it's a sunny day because of the shadows the trees cast. My preference is to try and pick a more cloudy day, which makes it easier to capture the endless bluebells scattered amongst the trees. Blowing dandelions is one of my favourite photos to take in May.

June

Strawberry Picking, poppy fields and peoniesI'm yet to find any poppy fields within the small window in which they are flowering, so that's the mission for next year. I was however a bit eager when it came to peonies, as I always miss their short season. As soon as they came into season I ordered a rather expensive bouquet to guarantee I'd be able to take photos with them. However I'd recommend waiting a week or so and then checking in the supermarkets because they all end up stocking them. Tesco had bunches for £5, Aldi had them for £3 and all of the other main supermarkets stocked them.

July

Lavender fields, flower fields and sunflowersThis is the month for all the pretty pictures in my opinion, so fill up that camera roll. The Real Flower Petal Confetti Co. open their flower field up for 10 day of the year in July and I'd highly recommend a visit. Also, about a twenty minute drive away is Cotswold Lavender so if you're feeling productive you could always visit them both in the same day.

August

Wheat fields, barley fields, bales of hay and maize mazeSunflowers can often sneak into August, as many maize mazes have them too. The bright yellow heads make for such fun photo props and the more pale yellow of wheat fields are stunning.

September

Sunsets/sunrises, Blackberry picking, Hydrangeas As the weather starts to cool down September is a good month for chasing sunrises/sunsets and starting to stock up the freezer with all of the freshly picked blackberries. October

Falling leaves and pumpkin pickingThe trees turn golden brown, pumpkins are in season and coats are back out; this is the month for warmth and comfort. November

Apple pickingWe have a few apple trees in our garden, but orchards sometimes open up for apple picking as to PYO farms. My favourite thing to do with them is make small apple crumbles for the girls and then pop them in the freezer. December

Holly and Christmas tree farmFinally, it's December and all things Christmassy. Hunting around Christmas tree farms for the perfect tree is one of my favourite December activities, especially with a mulled wine in one hand and a mince pie in the other.

I hope this leaves you informed and inspired to take beautiful seasonal photos all year around!

You have totally inspired me to do the same! I like you see it as inspiration and the flower photos always make me smile. Although a lot dont make it to my instagram feed, they are saved and recorded for ever xx

Photographs have slowly but surely become my favourite thing and that has actually come from blogging! Without taking any extra courses or anything I feel bevausenof blogging my attention to detail when taking pictures has improved dramatically and I have fallen in love with it!